TBCCI Chairman Emma Edhem's 2018 New Year Message

TBCCI Chairman Emma Edhem’s 2018 New Year Message

We’ve left behind yet another extraordinary year in the world, and a great year for the Turkish British Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Looking back, some of my favourite highlights of 2017 include:

The most successful and by far the biggest UK-Turkey Business Forum we’ve organised to date

New and exciting themed networking evenings which supplemented our existing networking events, bringing 400+ members and friends together

Patron Member exclusive banquet at the Turkish Embassy hosted by His Excellency the Ambassador and Honorary President of our Chamber

A very well attended reception at the Turkish Consulate hosted by a loyal and supportive Consul General building upon the family we created (a new tradition perhaps…)

Continued support and belief in the work that we do by our Lead Sponsors HSBC and Lloyd’s and a new friend and supporter, Atlasglobal, the 2017 exclusive Forum Sponsor

Closer relations and cooperation with other organizations such as Association of Business Women in Izmir (IZIKAD), The British Institute at Ankara (BIAA) and Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO)

Publishing Opinion Articles on Brexit as thought leaders in the field with Global Britain

These are but the tip of the iceberg and cannot even begin to touch the many contributions many of you have made to the success of the Chamber and indeed in supporting each other’s businesses! None of this would have been possible without our diverse and warm network.

Looking forward to 2018, we have great events and partnerships coming up, including the 9th UK-Turkey Business Forum that will take place on Thursday 4th October 2018 in Istanbul, and a number of casual and themed networking evenings to take place in London, amongst many others! So, stay tuned and please visit the website as often as you can to avoid disappointment!

Our vision for the TBCCI for the next two years goes hand in hand with the current developments and trends in both Turkey and the UK. We are delighted to report that the economies of both countries have proved and continue to prove resilient despite many challenges. Turkey remained strong closing the first three quarters of 2017 with 5.2 %, 5.1% and 11.1% growth respectively. Similarly, the UK economy continued to be vibrant in the face of a looming Brexit.

Turkey is one of the top twelve countries for potential UK exports, which increased by 22.3 % between January and November 2017, and still there is room for more. In 2016, the UK became the top foreign investor to Turkey; while the total investment from Europe was 4.3 billion US dollars, UK’s investment in Turkey reached 1 billion US dollars. Quite an impressive achievement and indicative of the appetite to do business on both sides of the water.

We witnessed these positive trends throughout the activities and role of the TBCCI. More than ever before, we were approached by associations and businesses to organise joint events and undertake joint projects in the UK and Turkey. We obliged with great pleasure. Business queries and new membership applications from global institutions and SMEs alike increased. Only days into the New Year and this trend is showing absolutely no signs of declining. Business queries and new potential members are at the door and on the phone.

Looking ahead, I strongly believe encouraging developments are waiting for us in the next two years. TBCCI will continue to endeavour to further facilitate bilateral trade and investment between the two countries and continue as the leading platform.

We will do this with the help of our newly elected and re-elected Board of Directors. On 13th December 2017, new Members of the Board joined us and sadly one left. It is with great pleasure that I would like to present them to you:

We lost from the Board a previously serving Director Nuri Bulgurcu in the election and wish him every success in new ventures.

I wish you a bright, rewarding, prosperous and healthy new year. As for me, I look forward to another year as Chairman of the leading platform for business relations between the UK and Turkey!

Emma Edhem, CC

CHAIRMAN TURKISH BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE INDUSTRY
DEPUTY HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, BARRISTER NO 5 CHAMBERS
COMMON COUNCILMAN CITY OF LONDON CORPORATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS UK HUNGARIAN BUSINESS COUNCIL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS BRITISH AZERBAIJAN LAW ASSOCIATION

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